Microsoft brings Office to iPhone?

Microsoft brings Office to iPhone?

Office on an iPhone?

Tired of trying to type up your latest school paper or professional report on third-party word processors or in Google docs just because your iPad doesn’t support Microsoft Word? Fret no longer: Microsoft’s Office Suite is finally on its way to Apple touch-screen products, though restrictions do apply.

As of Friday morning, users of Apple iOS devices will be able to find a brand-new Office Mobile application waiting for them on the Apple app store. The new app, which bears the same tried-and-true format that Microsoft Office has boasted for years, will allow users to view, edit, and create Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on the fly.

The catch? The new app is aimed exclusively toward users of Microsoft’s cloud-based service, Office 365. And while the integration makes sense, considering 365’s reliance on cloud databases like SkyDrive and SharePoint, and the ease such cloud databases will provide to the remote document accessibility, many will wish for a more bare-bones Office app. Non-365 subscribers won’t even be able to use the program, which comes as a free download on the app store, but demands subscription information to activate.

For those who do currently use Office 365, however, the new iOS app offers a pretty sweet arrangement. Much like the Office Mobile app that comes pre-installed on all Windows Phone products, the new Apple app is intuitively linked with Office 365, allowing users to rapidly access their most recent documents, or resume reading or editing at the spot they left off at on their computer. And since Office Mobile isn’t a third-party program or a web-based word processor, users don’t have to worry about it messing up the formatting of their documents. Microsoft has made sure to integrate everything seamlessly so that no compatibility issues get in the way.

As of Friday morning, the Office Mobile app is only available to customers through the United States app store. However, Microsoft has stated that the application should be available overseas in the United Kingdom market within a matter of days.

The new app is supported on all current-market Apple tablets and phones, including the iPad 3 and 4, as well as the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5. Users of recent iPod Touch or iPod Mini models will also be able to access and use the new program.

The question is whether or not Office 365 has a big enough user-base to justify Microsoft targeting them exclusively. Having just launched in June 2011, 365 isn’t a particularly established model, and while requiring subscriptions to use the new Office Mobile app is an easy way for Microsoft to guarantee that only paying customers are using their software, it also locks out the vast majority of office users.

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